ml500bangbus

I am trying to figure out what is the difference between the two. My dealer here has an 02 with the package I like. They are giving it away $7000 off MSRP. I am wondering what I could be missing out for the 03??? Which is $4000 off MSRP. What do you guys think???

Also is there such a thing as an after market third row seat. It seems that every ML500 (black) does not come with a third row seat.

Lastly, If any of you are planning to sell your BLACK ML55 or ML500 03' or 02'. let me know.

Radomir

Hehe.. for a good price.. you can take my black '00 ML430.. with factory third row seats and one full year of Starmark warranty...

ml500bangbus

By the way, Does the 500 come with dual exhaust???

m500

The O3's got the new DVD base Navigation unlike the O2's useless CD-Rom base Navigation system. Also the O3's got rear climate control, 02's only got one air vent for front passenger. If you have small child require child seat, the O3s got the new latch system that does not required setbelt to secure the child seat. Also, the climate control on the 03 is also redesigned. For $3000 difference, go for the 03 or be sorry.

Kar don

you can get the 03 ML500 with the inspiration package, many added features and it barely raises the base price. Very good deal!

Darkmann

Just a few corrections: except for the CD based NAV system, the 02's have all the other things you mentionsed - raer climate CNTRL, seat latch, etc. However, I'll advice to go for the MY03 'cause I believe MB has further addressed quality issues that surfaced with the MY02 trucks.

ml500bangbus

one other questions, on 500's do they come with dual exhaust?
And if they do, If I were to get a sport package, would both exhaust tips have AMG finish on them>??

Darkmann

Single exhaust w/AMG. Lorinser gan give you dual exhaust, at a price. See Accords post earlier.

jswedberg

The only major difference between the 02 and 03 ML is the DVD navigation system, which looks the same as the previous CD system externally.

That is important if you travel long distances, so you don't have to switch to a different CD (and buy said CD).

But if you are not a big interstate traveler, the CD nav works pretty well (in my opinion, of course).

Hewever, I admit my experience is on the Comand navigation on my C32, not the MCS unit on the ML - I don't know if there are big differences, but I think not.

amb9800

Yeah the '03's only new feature is the DVD-Nav, which you can put into any '00 or newer ML so that's not really important. I don't believe anything else was changed - as Darmann pointed out, the new climate control, latches, etc. was new for the '02 model, not the '03.

I think if you can get $7000 off, go for the '02 and spend the money you saved (vs. the '03) for accessories, etc. Regarding the exhausts, the sports package has only one pipe, which is an AMG tip. The ML55 has two AMG pipes, but I see you are interested in the 3rd row seating (M7) package, which you cannot get on the ML55 due to the spare tire being in the trunk, which is in turn because of the larger gas tank.

So if I was in your position, I would get the '02 and either tell the dealer to swap the '02 CD Nav for the '03 DVD Nav (if it was free or close to free) or just get it w/o the nav and then buy the DVD nav and install it yourself. The DVD Nav is usually now about $1200 and the DVD is about $275.

ml500bangbus

Thanks for all the info. This is really helping me out a lot to decide.